In order to get optimal results from application of mascara, ideally each eyelash should be uniformly coated with mascara. This is rather difficult to do with current mascara application systems, which comprise only a single brush. While most women wear mascara on a regular basis, they apply the mascara only to the under surface of the lashes using an upward motion. Only a very small percentage of women apply mascara to the top of the eyelashes, thus making it difficult to achieve a uniform coating on each lash.
It is believed that most women do not apply mascara to the upper surface of the eyelashes because the current application systems make it very cumbersome. For example, if a mascara user has already curled her eyelashes, applying mascara to the lower eyelash surfaces after curling will reinforce the curl because the mascara is applied using an upward motion. However, applying mascara to the top of the eyelashes using the same brush and a downward combing motion will result in force being applied opposite to the direction of the curl, thus straightening the eyelash again. Second, it is difficult to apply mascara to the top lashes because the lashes are soft and as soon as they are touched with the brush they move away, making application of mascara difficult.
Several adaptations of mascara applicators have been designed in an attempt to counteract this approach. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,442 teaches a mascara wand comprised of a tong shaped apparatus having an applicator member attached to the end of each arm of the tong. The tong opens and the user places the top applicator member on the top of her lashes and the bottom applicator member on the under surface of her eyelashes. The tong arms are compressed and the applicators apply mascara to the the upper and lower eyelash surfaces. The problem with this device is that tong apparatus is cumbersome and difficult to use, and the tong arms, if mishandled, can be easily poked into the eye.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,328 discloses a mascara application system having two brushes and two reservoirs designed to hold two portions of mascara in mutual isolation. The dual wands are simply two types of brushes for applying mascara, but do not facilitate coating of the upper and lower lashes. In addition, the dual brush construction mandates two separate cells for the mascara, which adds considerable expense in manufacturing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,701 discloses a double mascara brush tongs which are designed to grasp the lashes between the arms of the tongs to apply mascara.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,323,595 and 2,022,896 also disclose mascara applicators having a tong-like configuration.
The current systems are unsatisfactory because they are cumbersome to use, and expensive to make. Them is thus a need for a mascara application system which makes application of mascara to upper and lower lashes simple and fast, and at the same time providing an application system which is inexpensive to manufacture.